"The genesis of this narrative dates to 1989, the year the Exxon Valdez ran aground and poisoned Alaska’s Prince William Sound with 11 million gallons of crude oil. The Valdez oil spill was the worst environmental disaster in American history, a catastrophe that killed a half million water birds as well as countless seals and otters, poisoned salmon streams, and stained 1,500 miles of scenic shoreline. It also became the standard against which future environmental disasters were measured." | 
